Classmates mourn 12-year-old who died on baseball field

Students at Van Hoosen Middle School in Rochester Hills, look at the memorials to Joseph "Cooper" Salsberry. Cooper was a sixth-grader who collapsed and died Saturday while running laps with his baseball team. Monday, April 16, 2012. The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON

More than 150 students at Van Hoosen Middle School in Rochester Hills dyed their hair red or dressed in orange in memory of classmate Joseph “Cooper” Salsberry, a sixth-grader who collapsed and died Saturday while running laps with his baseball team.

Students made a photo slideshow of their favorite moments with Salsberry set to Randy Newman’s classic song from the Toy Story soundtrack, “You’ve got a friend in me.” The slideshow was played for the whole school.

“The most revealing thing we see from the notes the kids have written is that Cooper was a friend to everybody,” his science teacher, Pam Howell, said. “He had a marvelous sense of humor that the kids have talked about over and over again. He made everything fun.”

Sara Sullivan, who taught Salsberry’s Language Arts class, said Cooper was sweet and sensitive to the feelings of his classmates.

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“Anytime you had a classmate that maybe wasn’t having the best day, you could count on Cooper without even asking to make that student smile,” she said. “He was just that kid that could brighten anyone’s day.”

Tiffany Orsagos, his World Studies teacher, said: “Cooper was just a really cool kid that everybody liked. I don’t think there was one time I didn’t see him smiling.”

Salsberry played goalie on the school hockey team, and recently had a shutout. Hockey was a huge passion in his life, Orsagos said.

The school’s critical incident team was on hand Monday, along with social workers and counselors to help students deal with the sudden loss of their friend.

“We made it clear that if at any time over the next week, students need to see a counselor one-on-one, all they need to do is let their teachers know,” Van Hoosen Principal Michael Behrmann said.